“Planet Earth” is probably one of the best documentaries of all time. Episode 8 of this nature documentary, which shows us a different habitat on Earth in each episode, was about forests. Of course, there are striking aspects of our planet and the natural life in it, but since the show showed us these from a neverbeforeseen angle. Millions of people from the 130 countries where that documentary was broadcast were watching what was going on in our backyard in amazement. At some point in that 8th episode, David Attenborough, the unforgettable narrator of nature documentaries, started to talk about a fungal parasite that almost turns ants into zombies. These bullet ants are showing alarming symptoms. Spores of Cordyceps, a parasitic fungus, penetrated their bodies and brains. Cordyceps fungi. Of the millions of people watching this episode, this fungi species attracts the attention of 2 people in particular, and they nudge each other and kept watching. The poisoned brain directs the ant upwards. Then, losing its sense of direction, it bites off a stalk with its lower jaw. Yes, something is going on with the ant. Our grandfatherly narrator says that other workers immediately carried that ant to a far away place far from the colony. But why? Take a look at the ant's head. Do you see it? The stalk of the cordyceps protrudes from the ant's head. The fungus is taking over the ant! It's growing out of his head. They shoot this growth process, which lasted for 3 weeks, by making a cool “timelapse”. This fungus is so deadly that it can destroy the entire colony. A deadly fungus taking over another organism.
Suddenly a bright idea realizes in the head of one of those two people watching this scene. Working at a game company called "Naughty Dog", these two people assemble a team within the company to develop their idea. And they start working on a new game. The name of this game they developed is The Last of Us. This game has a story about how an infectious disease that swept the whole world destroyed civilization to a great extent in a period of 20 years. It is one of the games that I enjoyed and played until the end. People divided into different groups have to struggle with each other and this disease in order to survive. And guess what causes this disease that turns people almost into zombies? Cordyceps fungi. In this respect, The Last of Us is one of the most realistic apocalyptic zombie stories. I keep referring to them zombies, but the creatures in The Las of Us aren't technically zombies. That's what makes it even more realistic anyway. This game, the second part of which was developed later, now has a television series. Until today, TV series and movie adaptations have generally been unsuccessful, but this time we are faced with a production that is much more faithful to the original material. The first episode of the series, which aired last week, had a pretty good rating. And it immediately gathered people who have already played the game like me. But another reason why I watch the show was that the showrunner of the series was Craig Mazin. He's a very strange persona. After writing cheap/superficial comedy movies like "Hangover", his career suddenly changed and he produced a serious Show such as "Chernobyl". A stunning drama for those who haven't watched it, I would definitely recommend this series about recent history. This showrunner who made “Chernobyl” joined forces with the team that made the game and they shot this new series. So far all indicators are good. The game, which is the source of the story, is solid. The producer is solid. Well, so are the ratings. But despite all that, my thoughts on the first episode is... Anyway, I'll explain it in a moment. Probably this series will be a "fan drama". A nostalgic experience for those who have already played the game like me. I wonder what those who haven't played the game think about it? It is a production that is for example comparable with the movie 28 Days Later or the first 23 seasons of The Walking Dead series, after all.

If you are wondering how I prepared this video and other content on my channel: https://superpeer.com/barisozcan/coll...

Full text of the video and sources I used:
https://barisozcan.com